Father Theodore M. Hesburgh

In
1987, the Memorial Library was renamed for Notre Dame President Emeritus
Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. The Hesburgh Library is
the main library for the University of Notre Dame. Father Hesburgh
was president of Notre Dame when, in 1959, active planning started
for the
new library building. He was a charismatic and enthusiastic leader
of the fundraising effort and was extremely influential in defining
the
vision of the library structure. He wanted the library to be a highly
visible statement to the outside world about the importance attached
to scholarly achievement by the University; he achieved this by the
library's size, prominent location and eye-catching mural.

Father Hesburgh was educated at Notre Dame and the Gregorian University
in Rome, from which he received a bachelor of philosophy degree in 1939.
He was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1943. Following
his ordination, Father Hesburgh continued his study of sacred theology
at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., receiving his
doctorate (S.T.D.) in 1945. He joined the Notre Dame Department of Religion
that same year and was appointed the head of the department in 1948. The
following year he was appointed executive vice president in the administration
of Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., University president. At the age of
35 in June 1952, he was named the 15th president of Notre Dame.

Father Hesburgh stepped down as head of Notre Dame on June 1, 1987,
ending the longest tenure at that time among active presidents of American
institutions of higher learning. After a year-long sabbatical, he returned
to a retirement office on the 13th floor of the newly named Hesburgh
Library. One of his first projects was completion of an autobiography, "God,
Country, and Notre Dame," which was published in 1990 and became a national
bestseller. He continues to be very active in retirement including chairing
the advisory committees of the Kroc
Institute for International Peace Studies and the Kellogg
Institute for International Studies, both housed in the Hesburgh
Center for International Studies here at Notre Dame. He has been a national
leader in the field of education and active in redefining the nature
and mission of the contemporary Catholic university.

The information for this page was taken from:
Stevenson, Marsha. "Style and Symbol: Library Buildings at Notre Dame." WHAT
IS WRITTEN REMAINS: HISTORICAL ESSAYS ON THE LIBRARIES OF NOTRE DAME. Ed. Maureen
Gleason and Katharina J. Blackstead. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press,
1994.
and from the University of Notre Dame Public Relations and Information Office.